The guidance counselor placed on leave by Roncalli High School for her same-sex marriage intends to sue the Archdiocese of Indianapolis for discrimination.

David Page, the lawyer for Shelly Fitzgerald, announced Thursday that they would be filing a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within the next 30 days. Should the EEOC issue a right to sue letter, Fitzgerald and her legal team will file a suit in federal court against the Archdiocese. Page said Roncalli may also be named as a party in the lawsuit.

Fitzgerald was placed on leave in August, after someone turned in a copy of her marriage license to the school. While Fitzgerald had hoped to return to Roncalli; her high school alma mater, Page said that no longer seems possible.

"We don't see any going back at this point," he said.

Besides announcing the intention to sue the Archdiocese, Thursday's press event was Fitzgerald's chance to tell her story. She has granted a few interviews — she appeared on the "Ellen" show in September — but has been limited in her interaction with media until this point.

Now that getting her job back is off the table, Fitzgerald took a few minutes to share more of her story.

She started like this:

"Good afternoon. My name is Shelly Fitzgerald and I'm a proud gay woman who has been in a loving and committed relationship for 22 years."

Fitzgerald talked about "fulfilling a lifelong dream" when she married her wife, Victoria, four years ago, about their daughter Sophie and about the difficulties of growing up gay in the Catholic church.

"I graduated from Roncalli in 1991," she said. "During my time there, I was really conflicted. I struggled to be my true self. I had difficulty understanding how my sexuality related to my faith as a Catholic."

Fitzgerald said she even considered suicide.

Eventually, though, Fitzgerald said she reconciled who she was with her faith and had no doubt that she was "exactly the person God intended me to be."

She stayed connected to Roncalli in various ways until 2004, when she was hired as a guidance counselor.

"Until recently, it was my dream job," she said.

Fitzgerald said that even though there doesn't seem to be a path back to Roncalli for her right now, she still loves the school. She's didn't ask for the spotlight she's in today, but feels compelled to use it for change.

Fitzgerald and her supporters are pushing for the Archdiocese to change its employment practices, which include contract language that prohibits LGBTQ employees from being in same-sex marriages. She wants the Archdiocese to allow employees to enter into same-sex marriages. to extend benefits to same-sex spouses and to rehire LGBTQ employees who were fired under the old contract language.

Fitzgerald is also requesting that the Archdiocese allow chapters of the Gay-Straight Alliance in all Catholic schools.

Until then, though, students at Catholic schools and others that don't allow or don't have GSA chapters can find a place at Indiana Youth Group, a nonprofit serving LGBTQ youth. Chris Paulsen, executive director of IYG, announced Thursday that the organization would begin hosting an independent GSA chapter for students who otherwise don't have access to it.

"The support that LGBTQ youth receive at school is critical to their well being," Paulsen said. "IYG is forming this unaffiliated GSA to ensure that youth without proper support at school are supported by caring adults through IYG."

IYG will also partner with Shelly's Voice, the advocacy group formed by five Roncalli students in the wake of Fitzgerald's suspension. The group will officially launch next month, said Roncalli student and Shelly's Voice member Anna Clodfelter, with the goal of "bringing an end to the discrimination of the Catholic LGBTQ community."

Archdiocese and Roncalli officials have maintained that the language in the employee contract is consistent with the teaching of the Catholic church.